Indian Wildlife Club Forum

At the June 2007 annual meeting of the World Wildlife Fund in Bejing, soft drinks giant Coca Cola launched a multi-year partnership with WWF to conserve and protect fresh water resources.

The partnership will focus on " measurably conserving" China’s Yangtze, South East Asia’s Mekong, the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo of South West US and Mexico, the rivers nad streams of the Southern US, the water basins of the Mesoamerican Caribbean Reef, the East
Africa basin of Lake Malawi and Europe’s Danube River.

For 15 years, Chewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer of Ladakh, has been building "artificial glaciers" to make life a little easier for the hard working but poverty-stricken farmers of Ladakh. He uses a network of pipes to capture and channel precious
snowmelt that would otherwise be wasted. First, water from an existing stream is diverted through iron pipes to a shady area of the valley. From there, the water flows out to a sloping hill at regular intervals along the mountain slope. Small stone embsnkments
impede the flow of water, creating shallow pools. During the winter, as temperatures drop, the water in these pools freezes. Once this cycle has been repeated over many weeks, a thick sheet of ice forms, resembling a glacier.

Norphel says an artificial glacier scores over a natural one in many ways. " It is closer to the village and at a comparatively lower altitude. "

For 15 years, Chewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer of Ladakh, has been building "artificial glaciers" to make life a little easier for the hard working but poverty-stricken farmers of Ladakh. He uses a network of pipes to capture and channel precious
snowmelt that would otherwise be wasted. First, water from an existing stream is diverted through iron pipes to a shady area of the valley. From there, the water flows out to a sloping hill at regular intervals along the mountain slope. Small stone embsnkments
impede the flow of water, creating shallow pools. During the winter, as temperatures drop, the water in these pools freezes. Once this cycle has been repeated over many weeks, a thick sheet of ice forms, resembling a glacier.

Norphel says an artificial glacier scores over a natural one in many ways. " It is closer to the village and at a comparatively lower altitude. "

With Minister for Energy H.D. Revanna asserting that the
Government has no option but to go ahead with its decision to set up
the 1,000-mw coal-fired thermal power plant at Chamalapura to meet the
increasing demand for power in the State, the movement opposing the
decision is being intensified in the urban and rural parts of Mysore.

Chamalapura Ushna Vidyut Sthavara Virodhi Horata Samanvaya Samithi is
making use of various visual mediums to educate farmers and people on
the impact of the project. While environmental organisations such as
the Mysore Amateur Naturalists is engaged in giving power point
presentations on how the project would affect flora and fauna in the
area, besides the life of poor farmers, students of Chamarajendra
Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) are engaged in preparing publicity
material for the agitation.

A CAVA student has made use of an old building in Kukkarahalli village
to project the impact of the project. "Nirantara", a cultural
organisation, has produced "Baduki-Badukalu Bidi", a mini-documentary,
and is screening it in schools and colleges.

Farmers themselves have arranged the screening of "Matad Matadu
Mallige" which dwells on the plight of flower-growing farmers and how
they succeed in their fight. "Power V/S People: Struggle of
Chamalapura farmers", a documentary produced by Chandrashekar
Ramenahalli, is making waves in Chamalapura and surrounding villages.
As part of the campaign to create awareness among farmers,
Chandrashekar Ramenahalli, who has worked with Medha Patkar in the
Narmada Bachao Andolan, has produced the film with support from the
Chamalapura Anti-Thermal Plant Struggle Committee.

Chandrashekar Ramenahalli, a student of sociology, produced the
documentary in 15 days. The 35-minute documentary, which records the
opinions of farmers and energy experts, also throws light on the lush
green fields in the 12 villages where farmers harvest up to three
crops a year.

One tonne of scrap from discarded computers contains more gold than can be produced from 17 tonne of gold ore. Mumbai alone throws away 19,00 tonne of electronic waste a year, excluding the large e-waste imports from developed nations through its port.

The projected growth for the e-waste generation for India is about 34% year on year.

India already has a few small scale regional recycling programs-’Eparisara’ and’Trishyiraya’ are two such outfits.

The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, lies on theSouthwestern coastal areas of Bangladesh, forming a seaward fringe ofthe delta. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network ofwaterways, mudflats and small islands covered with mangrove forests,and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes. Thearea is known for its wide range of fauna. There are about 334 speciesof trees and plants and 450 species of animals in this forest - arepository of diversity. Of these, there are 47 species of mammals,270 species of birds, 45 species of reptiles and 200 species of fish.

A documentary film on the Sundarbans, titled Badabon-er Katha, waspremiered on August 18 at National Museum Auditorium. Under thesupervision of Manzarehassin Murad, Moynul Huda has directed thedocumentary. It is a joint venture by Steps Towards Development andRupantor.

The documentary presents the scenic beauty of the Sundarbans indifferent seasons, as well as the dependency of humans to the forestfor making their living.

Badabon-er Katha begins with images of spectacular beauty of themajestic forest. The documentary features the diverse lifestyles ofpeople living in the Sundarbans, including fishermen, honey collectorsand others. Badabon-er Katha also highlights some natural and man-madechanges that are fast becoming threats to the existence of theSundarbans.

Referring to the Sundarbans as the "only sweet-water mangrove forestin the world", Dr. Ainun Nishat said, "Three points of the forest arelisted as a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, this rare heritagesite is under threat."

Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed said, "This documentary will be a recordof the Sundarbans, if ever the largest mangrove forest in the world islost."

Three years after the Central government virtually abandoned the mega project of inter-linking of rivers, the government of Bihar is coming out with a proposal to link various river basins within the state.

Gujarat, too, is toying with a similar idea. What’s more, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi recently said that the linking of the southern rivers — Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery — could be taken up immediately...............

Satish C Jha, chairman, special task force on Bihar and a member of PM’s Economic Advisory Council, told SundayET that a better understanding with Nepal was key to control flood in the state and also evolve a better system of irrigation................

Former head of the task force on inter-linking of rivers Suresh Prabhu argued that it should be a two-way approach. “What Bihar is doing now is a bottom-up approach. We need that too. Inter-linking of rivers should be done in an intergrated manner involving
both augmentation and conservation,” said Mr Prabhu.

World Pheasant Association WPA (India) proposed removal of the legal loophole in respect of dealing in peacock tail feathers, to the National Board for Wildlife, the apex national body for wildlife conservation chaired by India’s Prime Minister.

The Board approved a rapid survey to assess the current status of the species and periodic monitoring and approprite protection measures in their meeting held on 19 June 2006.